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I once had pork belly in South Africa at a place called the Brass Bell, right on the ocean in Cape Town. It was the most delicious meal. I thought I would try my hand at it, and actually, it was pretty easy to make. Read how I made crispy bits out of the fat. It reminds me a bit of bacon with a milder flavor; still delicious.
This way of cooking pork belly could not be easier and produces predictable results each time. The meat is tender and the pork fat juicy with a crispy pork crackling top.
It is a bit tricky to cut the top of the pork belly, so you can totally skip it, if desired. Freshly cut pork belly from a butcher is superior to what you can find in the supermarket. It will yield the best results.
The rub with the salt in it is what helps make the crackling great.
Other pork recipes we enjoy:
Crock-Pot Pork Loin with Onion Gravy
Slow-Cooker Bacon-Wrapped Pork Loin
Juicy Crock-Pot Loin with Onions
Sweet and Spicy Pork Tenderloin
Ingredients:
28 oz pork belly (0.8 kg)
Light-tasting olive oil
Rub:
11/2 tsp salt (7 mL)
1/4 tsp black pepper (1 mL)
1/4 tsp paprika (1 mL)
1/4 tsp garlic powder (1 mL)
1/4 tsp onion powder (1 mL)
1/4 tsp oregano (1 mL)
Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 450°F (220°C).
Place in an oven-safe dish that is deep enough to hold some fat that renders from the pork belly. Pour a little light-tasting olive oil in the bottom.
Cut a diagonal slit in the fat on top without cutting right through to the meat. Cut another diagonal slit in the opposite direction (diamond-shaped) and continue until the surface is covered.
Rub: In small bowl, combine salt, black pepper, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder and oregano. Mix well with a small spoon.
Using rub mixture, rub into slits and over the top of pork belly, but mostly on the meaty sides.
Place pork belly on top of the oil in prepared pan, fat side up and place the pan on the middle rack of the oven. Roast 20 minutes, turning (flipping gently outside the oven and being exceedingly careful) every 5 minutes. Set oven timer for 5 minutes and another timer for 20 minutes as a guideline. It will take a little longer than 20 minutes in total, as one has to account for the time when one takes the roast out of the oven to turn it. Reduce heat to 275°F (135°C) and continue roasting fat side up for 1 hour. If the skin is not as crispy as you would like, place under the broiler (still on middle rack) for a couple of minutes. Watch carefully as it can burn quickly.
Helpful Hint: Pork belly has a lot of fat, but it is tasty fat and keeps the pork moist while it is roasting. You can cut the fat off and nuke pieces briefly – around 30 seconds and it will render nice tasty, crispy bits that taste like bacon. My husband liked doing that. Another idea is to wrap remainder of pork belly in plastic and refrigerate. The next day brown in a nonstick pan until crispy.
Yield: 7 servings
1 serving
586.2 calories
11.1 g protein
60 g fat
0 g fiber
0.3 g net carbs
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